Sharp Astrophysics Professors?

While innocently watching Mythbusters on the DVR over the w/e I ended up seeing two very weird adverts by Sharp - one on LCD TVs and one on solar panels, both hosted by a white-haired guy introduced in a note at the bottom of the screen as "Gerard Fasel - Professor of Astrophysics."

"No way, never heard of him...", I thought, this is just like those "Real Customer - Not an Actor" things they put on adverts all the time. You can watch parts of the Sharp/Fasel solar panel advert here, its a little weird if you ask me.

Anway, I was wrong. Gerard Fasel is actually a Visiting Professor at Pepperdine, although more involved in teaching than current research. He also happens to be a part time actor (IMDB), his next role being "Albino Security Guard" in the Truth About Angels, which is probably related to how he got the Sharp advert gig.